Environmental Public Health:

Exposures and Risk

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RESOURCE	GRADE LEVEL	MEDIA TYPE
Agricultural Runoff and the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone This video segment adapted from Big River: A King Corn Companion shows how agricultural chemicals from the Midwest that travel downstream in water runoff create a vast marine "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico.	6-12	Video
Air Quality Index In this interactive activity adapted from "Air Quality Index: A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health" by the U.S. EPA, learn about common pollutants in the air we breathe, their health effects, and how their levels are reported.	6-12	Interactive
Atrazine Affects the Water Supply In this video segment featuring live-action animation, adapted from Big River: A King Corn Companion, see how the agricultural pesticide atrazine impacts both crops and human health.	6-12	Video
Can Organic Farms and Mosquito Control Coexist? Learn about one town's conflict over the issue of spraying pesticides to combat disease-carrying insects, in this video segment from Greater Boston.	6-12	Video
Chemical Hazards at Home In this interactive activity from the National Library of Medicine, investigate some of the chemical hazards commonly found in homes.	3-5	Interactive
Chemical Risks to a Fetus Learn about the risks environmental contaminants pose for a developing fetus, in this video adapted from Contaminated Without Consent.	9-12	Video
Chicken Waste and Water Pollution In this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: “Poisoned Waters,” learn how unregulated waste from large-scale chicken farms contributes to water pollution.	6-12	Video
Clean Water Systems in Mexico The push to modernize Mexico's water and sanitation systems not only saved human lives, it also spurred economic growth, as illustrated in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.	6-12	Video
Climate Change and Human Health Learn how global climate change affects human health in this interactive activity adapted from "A Human Health Perspective: On Climate Change" by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.	6-12	Interactive
Contaminating the Rockies Learn how abandoned mines have been contaminating water supplies in the Rocky Mountains for decades in this video segment adapted from NOVA: "Poison in the Rockies."	6-12	Video
Converting to Biodiesel Meet a college student whose class project to turn cooking grease into diesel fuel resulted in converting bus fleets to biodiesel, in this video from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative.	5-12	Video
Did Environmental Exposure Cause a Disease Cluster? This video segment from Greater Boston examines whether environmental toxins may be to blame for a rare skin disease.	6-12	Video
Don't Mess with Mercury Learn about the dangers of mercury in this short video from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.	3-12	Video
The Effects of Childhood Lead Poisoning Learn about the long-term consequences of childhood lead poisoning and how to avoid them, in this video adapted from Lead Awareness for Parents by the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning.	6-12	Video
The Effects of Pesticides on Children Follow anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette as she studies the effects of pesticides on children in a farming community in Mexico, in this video segment adapted from Playing with Poison.	9-12	Video
Endocrine Disruptor Hypothesis Scientists discuss whether or not endocrine disrupting chemicals, which may cause birth defects and other health concerns, should be controlled in the absence of conclusive proof, in this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: "Fooling with Nature."	6-12	Video
Environmental Hazards on the Farm This interactive activity adapted from the National Library of Medicine identifies health hazards found on farms.	6-8	Interactive
Environmental Hazards at the Coast This interactive activity adapted from the National Library of Medicine identifies environmental health hazards in coastal areas.	6-8	Interactive
Environmental Hazards in the City This interactive activity adapted from the National Library of Medicine identifies environmental health hazards in a typical urban or suburban community.	6-8	Interactive
Environmental Justice: Opposing Industrial Hog Farming Learn about the impact that large-scale hog farming has had on one minority community in North Carolina and how residents fought back to protect their water supply and property, in this video segment adapted from Earthkeeping: "Toxic Racism."	6-12	Video
Environmental Justice: Opposing a Toxic Waste Incinerator In this video segment adapted from Earthkeeping: "Toxic Racism," learn how farm workers and farm owners formed a rare alliance in an effort to block the use of an incinerator in their Latino community by suing a major corporation for environmental discrimination.	6-12	Video
Environmental Justice: Opposing a Toxic Waste Landfill This video segment adapted from Earthkeeping: “Toxic Racism” talks about the early days of the environmental justice movement and how the health of minority communities can be compromised by the disproportionate numbers of hazardous waste facilities located there.	6-12	Video
Environmental Justice in Dallas Follow a Dallas community's fight to receive federal Superfund status to clean up the damage from a high-polluting lead smelter, in this video segment adapted from Earthkeeping: "Toxic Racism."	6-12	Video
Eradicating Malaria with DDT Learn about the role of the controversial chemical DDT in the worldwide malaria eradication program, and hear from an expert who advocates bringing it back, in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.	9-12	Video
Factory Farms and Organic Alternatives In this video adapted from the series Race to Save the Planet, learn how agricultural pesticides can help increase the amount of food produced, but can also damage soil and wildlife in the process. See how organic farming addresses some of these challenges.	6-12	Video
Farm Nitrates in the Water Supply Learn how nitrate runoff from farm fertilizers can negatively impact human health and how a water treatment plant is tackling the challenge, in this video excerpted from Big River.	6-12	Video
Fishing for Safe Food This interactive game adapted from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a fun way to learn which types of fish contain low levels of mercury and are safe to eat and which contain high levels and should be avoided.	3-8	Interactive
Food Justice In this adaptation of a video that high school students created in collaboration with the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, learn "what's whack" about our current food systems and the many actions individuals can take to address these issues.	6-12	Video
Fracking In this video segment adapted from Need to Know, learn about the controversial method of extracting natural gas known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and how some residents who live near drill sites are concerned that it's polluting their water.	9-12	Video
Green Chemistry Learn about a study in which participants discovered contaminants in their homes, and how green chemistry may provide alternatives to such everyday toxins, in this video adapted from Contaminated Without Consent.	6-12	Video
Groundbreaking Pesticide Ban Learn how one child's willingness to share her experience of life-threatening exposure to lawn pesticides helped inspire a citywide ban of pesticides for lawn or garden use, in this video segment adapted from Playing with Poison.	6-12	Video
Health Risks of the BP Oil Spill In this video segment adapted from Need to Know, learn about the possible short- and long-term health risks for workers involved in cleaning up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.	9-12	Video
Healthy Eating In this lesson, students learn about nutrition and healthy food choices. They explore the difference between "everyday" and "sometimes" foods and think about where they can find different foods.	K-4	Lesson Plan
Healthy Eating Habits This animated video segment adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, featuring American Indian characters, promotes replacing sugary foods with fruits and vegetables.	K-2	Video
Healthy Snacks This animated video segment adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, featuring American Indian characters, offers suggestions of what to eat for healthy snacks and looks at why less healthy snacks should be considered "sometimes" foods.	K-2	Video
Heart Disease: America's Leading Cause of Death Learn why heart disease, a largely preventable condition, is the leading cause of death in this country today, in this video adapted from The Hidden Epidemic: Heart Disease in America.	6-12	Video
Help Prevent Diabetes with Exercise This animated video segment adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, featuring American Indian characters, explains how children can help prevent diabetes through regular physical activity.	K-2	Video
How Big Is the Oil Spill? Compare the size of the 78,000-square-mile BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to more familiar things, in this video adapted from Need to Know.	6-12	Video
How Does Lifestyle Affect Diabetes? This animated video segment adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, featuring American Indian characters, explains how lifestyle changes have resulted in an increase in diabetes.	K-2	Video
How Does Your Environment Affect Your Health? In this media-rich self-paced lesson, students explore how environmental factors affect human health and how they can reduce their exposure to health hazards in their environment.	5-8	Self-paced Lesson
How Effective Is Your Sunscreen? Aaron and Justin investigate which sunscreen best keeps out harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun, in this video from DragonflyTV.	3-8	Video
How to Reduce Lead Exposure Learn how to prevent childhood lead poisoning in this video segment adapted from Lead Awareness for Parents by the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning.	6-8	Video
In Small Doses: Arsenic In this video segment adapted from In Small Doses: Arsenic, learn how naturally occurring arsenic moves into groundwater and how much is too much for human consumption.	6-12	Video
Is Autism Genetic or Environmental? In this video segment from Greater Boston, learn about conflicting theories regarding the cause of autism.	9-12	Video
Malaria Treatment and Prevention Strategies In this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival, watch a graphic representation of the malaria parasite and hear from experts about the physical and economic effects of the disease on the human population, as well as treatments and preventive measures.	6-12	Video
Mercury Calculator This interactive calculator produced by Teachers' Domain helps you determine the mercury levels in various types of fish, and enables you to make more informed choices about which fish are safe to eat and which should be avoided or eaten infrequently.	9-12	Interactive
Natural Gas Mining Contaminants This video segment adapted from Split Estate reveals some community health consequences of natural gas mining.	8-12	Video
New Contaminants in the Water Supply In this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: “Poisoned Waters,” hear about the challenges facing water treatment facilities and environmental regulators as they try to keep up with new chemicals found in the water supply.	9-12	Video
PCB Cleanup in Seattle In this video segment adapted from FRONTLINE: “Poisoned Waters,” a Seattle community, concerned about its health, fights to clean up PCBs in its neighborhood.	6-12	Video
Possible Causes of Malformed Frogs In this video from DragonflyTV, Katie and Susie investigate whether malformations in frogs in a nearby pond are being caused by ultraviolet light from the Sun, chemical pollutants, or parasites.	5-8	Video
The Potential Health Hazards of Vinyl Siding Follow one family's investigation into the toxins generated through the production and disposal of vinyl siding, in this video segment adapted from Blue Vinyl.	6-12	Video
Protect Your Health and Environment In this media-rich self-paced lesson, students explore health hazards in their environment and learn how to make their environment safer.	3-4	Self-paced Lesson
Protesting a Natural Gas Facility Meet a high school student who mobilized her community to stop construction of a liquefied natural gas facility, in this video adapted from Earth Island Institute.	6-12	Video
Rachel Carson's Silent Spring In this video segment adapted from American Experience: "Rachel Carson's Silent Spring," learn how the lethal impact of the pesticide DDT on wildlife inspired biologist Rachel Carson to write Silent Spring.	6-12	Video
Reducing Household Chemical Risks This series of public service videos from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences provides quick solutions and action steps to minimize exposure to pesticides, chemical contaminants, and secondhand smoke.	6-8	Video
Taking Action for a Clean Environment In this media-rich, self-paced lesson, students explore activism, some of the tactics that youth activists may use to influence others and bring about change, and the characteristics activists possess.	9-12	Self-paced Lesson
Teen Advocates for a Neighborhood Park Learn how 18-year-old Misra and her teen advocacy group, A.C.T.I.O.N., successfully lobbied for a bus route to take her community’s residents to a hard-to-reach city park, in this video from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative.	6-12	Video
Teen Fights for Toxic Waste Cleanup Meet a student who successfully lobbied her state legislature about toxic waste sites in her neighborhood, in this video adapted from Earth Island Institute’s New Leaders Initiative.	9-12	Video
Teen Maps Contaminants from a Coal Plant In this video adapted from Earth Island Institute, meet a high school student who educated her community about how a coal-burning power plant was contributing to asthma and other health problems there.	6-12	Video
Teens for Safe Cosmetics In this video adapted from Earth Island Institute's New Leaders Initiative, meet a high school student who worked to enact a state law to make cosmetics safer, after she learned they contained toxic chemicals linked to cancer.	6-12	Video
Understanding Air: Climate Change and Modeling Combustion with LEGO^® Bricks In this lesson, students learn about the components of air and the chemical reactions that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. They model combustion using LEGO bricks, and explore the connection between carbon dioxide, climate change, and environmental health.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Understanding Air: Air Pollution and Modeling Pollutants with LEGO^® Bricks In this lesson, students learn about the chemical reactions that release various pollutants into the atmosphere and what happens when pollutants in the air are exposed to sunlight. They model incomplete combustion using LEGO bricks, and explore the connection between air quality and environmental health.	5-8	Lesson Plan
Unintended Chemical Exposures This interactive slideshow produced for Teachers' Domain features products and foods we use every day and explains why some of the chemicals they contain might be hazardous to our health.	9-12	Interactive
West Nile Virus Outbreak in NYC Learn how doctors in both the veterinary and human health fields unraveled the mystery of the deadly West Nile virus outbreak in New York City in this video segment adapted from Rx for Survival.	6-12	Video